What better way to get warmed up and creeped-out for Halloween than to make your way through the latest offering of mazes at Knott’s Scary Farm? Of the three new mazes, two are superb treks into the psychologically dark, morbid and gory world of horror.

Here is how our team of brave maze explorers ranked eight of the mazes. We graded on a scale of 1 to 5 skulls, with 5 being the top rating.

One of the new mazes for this year, Trick or Treat is a great way to embark on your journey to the dark side. You are given a flashlight and invited into the Green Witch’s haunted home. Rows of jack o’ lanterns greet you as you wander down a corridor decorated with spooky masks. Are these masks all that remain of earlier visitors? It gets dark inside and the flashlights may or may not help, but judicious use of them may reveal some surprises. This is a superb journey into psychological horror and will set off your jump-scares meter.

Rating: 5 skulls.

Dark Ride

Another of the new mazes. Clowns are hot right now, so Dark Ride seizes upon that. The journey is through an abandoned carnival ride with a track that you follow. The carnival now has become a refuge for sideshow freaks and cruel characters, mostly clowns, lurking in the shadows. There’s a lot of interaction, and there’s a nice touch in that some of the entourage of former carnival workers are friendly – and some not so much. And hey, is that clown over there living and breathing – or just a large doll? You know how you will find out.

Rating: 5 skulls

Tooth Fairy

A returning favorite, Tooth Fairy centers around a tooth fairy who collects people in addition to their teeth, dragging them from their bedrooms into a cruel world of dentistry. This one is perfect for those who like to indulge their phobia about dentists. People are screaming in pain and begging for help, victimized by some demented people who likely are not certified in dentistry but certainly are certifiable and fond of using sharp instruments. Bloody teeth are all over the place, along with a sudden blackout, disorientating strobes lights and fog and an abandoned reception desk that hardly eases the anxiety. Plus, there is the constant sound of a drill penetrating through tooth enamel right to the nerve.

Rating: 5 skulls

PARANORMAL, INC.

You can return to Hayden Hill Sanitarium, a haunted mental hospital where demonic and restless spirits make themselves terrifyingly known among the dark halls of an institution whose history is bloated with bad vibes. The voyage through this is dark and unnerving, with one passage that might trigger near-panic in those who are claustrophobic. Ghostly presences are everywhere, meaning a lot of jump-scares.

Rating: 4 skulls

Red Barn and Pumpkin Eater

These two mazes tap into the horror staple of the dangers that lurk in rural areas. The smell of hay will linger in your memory if you have not lost your mind yet. With similar settings, these two experiences tend to blend together. Pumpkin Eater is new this year and features a 7-foot creature that haunts the woods surrounding The Hollow. The challenge is to get through the haunted town the creature terrorized, encountering silent victims and a cave of crawling insects. And watch out for the labyrinth of dead and thorny trees that impede your progress to safety. Red Barn returns with its bloody venue of creatures that feed on human flesh. Some soon-to-be menu items beg you rescue them only to be sent whimpering into the corner by the evil sons of the heinous head creature. Expect to be knocked around by hanging slabs of meat that definitely are not bovine.

Rating: 4 skulls apiece.

Shadow Lands

Brave warriors have to face off with demon samurais whose souls have been cursed to rot in purgatory. A lot of blades are wielded wildly as the journey goes through a sacred shrine, an ancient Japanese temple and into the midst of the shadow lands. A lot of things are going on that prompt you to look upward. But you really need to beware of what’s going on at throat level.

Rating: 3 skulls

Voodoo – Order of the Serpent

You follow the haunting legend of Papa Legba in his quest to conjure the serpent goddess on the outskirts of New Orleans. Swamps always are a domain of creepiness and danger, and there are a lot of perilous challenges to serve as a frightening distraction. This one is like a bad dream.

Vernor Rodgers has been a movie nut for more than 40 years. He even keeps a log of every movie he sees. This includes theater viewing, pay TV and other platforms. He has been writing reviews for 16 years and is especially interested in the horror genre.